Into the Inferno
by Nythtak
Summary: It started out like any other job; find the monster, kill the monster, get paid. Falling down wells, centipede demons, glowing marbles and bratty teenagers with dog ears didn't exactly come into the equation. But Dante figured protecting this jewel couldn't be too difficult, right? (slight DmC xover, but no knowledge needed. Enjoy the over-the-top fight scenes)
1. Chapter 1

A wide set of steps led up to the shrine, its green roof gleaming beneath the afternoon sun, matching the low wall that closed it in. There was a house settled close by, the two-story building at odds with the traditional architecture of the shrine, clearly a far more recent addition to the plateau the structures shared. The peaceful atmosphere that usually lingered around the place was marred by a dark energy, its leeching power digging its claws into the holy ground in an almost tangible presence that snapped at any foolish enough to venture near. Any sensitive enough to notice its presence would feel its corrosive power lashing at them, urging them to run far from the infected shrine.

Dante simply raised an eyebrow. He glanced down at his hand, where in scrawling black ink were the words _Higurashi Shrine, _then back up at the looming presence that coated the area ahead of him. "Guess this is the place," he muttered, eying the long staircase before shrugging and leisurely making his way up the steps, whilst reviewing what he knew.

It wasn't a lot. He barely even remembered the guys that'd given him the case, but since he'd been drunk off his ass he figured he could forgive himself for that. And with his metabolism, it took a hell of a lot of alcohol to get himdrunk. The poor bartender's confusion as he just kept chugging the strongest stuff the guy had like it was soda still made him grin, though the man had gotten used to him when Dante had come back every other night for the past few weeks. He had a bit of a routine; lose himself in the drink in the evenings, fall unconscious and not wake up until at least the afternoon, then spend the rest of the time trying to figure out a way back to his own universe.

Yeah. _Universe. _He could deal with dimension hops – had gotten pretty used to it, actually – but the situation he was in now went far beyond that. Hell, he didn't even know how he'd gotten here, memories fuzzy around the time he'd 'left' like someone had done a half-assed job of wiping his mind. So basically he had no idea what sent him here, and any attempts to get back were shots in the dark; far more likely to get him killed than actually work. So if he'd been a bit down lately, fuck it, he had a right to be!

This new universe was like his old one in some ways, but clearly different in others. Physically it was pretty much the same – continents, cities, languages, food; stuff like that – as far as he could tell, since he was stuck in Japan without a passport and little motivation to go travelling anyway. The sky wasn't green or anything funky like that, but a few places – Fortuna, for example – didn't seem to exist at all. None of the numbers he'd called had found anyone he knew from his world, so he didn't know if there were some alternate versions of them or not. It was probably for the best anyway.

The biggest change had to be that there were no demons, or at least not the standard kind he was used to dealing with. The few he thought might've been demons had run as soon as he'd gotten within half a mile of them. Which was odd, since the usual kind liked nothing more than to charge right at him, determined to slash him into itty bitty pieces. He'd tried chasing them a couple of times, but Dante had never been that great a tracker, especially when the fuckers decided to hide their presence. It was irritating, but he'd left it alone, figuring that getting home was more important. Like that had worked out much better.

He hadn't taken any jobs since he'd gotten here. It was kinda hard to, what with there being no Dante in this universe, so there was no demon hunter reputation either. Money hadn't been too much of an issue though; no matter where he was there'd always be scum crawling the streets in search of victims, even if they were the human kind. Thugs were pathetically easy to deal with – the hard part was making sure he didn't kill them – and there seemed to be an unlimited supply too. Lucky him.

So as far as money went he was doing okay, even managing to scrounge up enough to rent a crummy apartment in what had to be the worst neighbourhood in Tokyo. It was, to be perfectly honest, a shithole, but he wasn't exactly swimming in riches so he made do. Not like he used the place for anything other than somewhere to crash, and when he was unconscious he couldn't exactly complain.

He'd been approaching unconsciousness when his current employers had approached him. Slumped over his – sixteenth, seventeenth? – glass of some fruity drink that burnt the back of his throat on the way down, he barely noticed the two men that sat down on either side of him. Now he realized that they'd felt a bit off, but since he hadn't sensed any sort of threat from them he'd went on happily ignoring them. Then the silver-haired one had started talking to him – about what, he had no idea, the pleasant haze remaining stubbornly and blurring the memory. The other one brought up the job at some point, and had scribbled something in black marker on the back of his hand so he wouldn't forget, or whatever. No names were mentioned, and he'd been too drunk to be suspicious of them, especially not when the redhead casually passed over a wad of cash with a promise of more after he finished the job. He'd been real happy then – he vaguely recalled shoving his tongue down the throat of both of them at some point – and hell, he was still pretty pleased now. It was enough to keep him afloat for a good long while. He could worry about how they knew his 'occupation' later.

Still, Dante was annoyed that he couldn't even remember what they looked like, other than hair colour. Even that detail was ambiguous at best, only sticking in his mind since they stood out from the dark colours most Japanese had. But at least it'd help him pick them out if he saw them again. Which he hopefully would, if they kept their end of the deal. He was looking forward to getting a better place with the money they'd owe him once he finished the job.

Anyway, what it basically boiled down to was that he had no idea what he was getting himself into. But, being Dante, that didn't deter him in the slightest.

The hybrid reached the top of the steps and looked around curiously. Ahead and to the left was the house where whoever owned the shrine must've lived, though the crumbled east wall and concave roof didn't bode well for any inhabitants. The paved ground between the house and the shrine was torn up in a few lines that crossed over each other in places, two metres or so thick, giving Dante an indicator of the size of whatever it was he'd been sent to kill.

The scent of blood hit his nose. It was human, and there was enough of it that at least a couple of people had to be dead. He sighed and set off towards the house, where the smell was concentrated. Peering in through the half-open sliding doors he immediately spotted two bodies, crushed beneath what had been the second floor, a reaching arm the only thing to have escaped the rubble. "Damn," he murmured, wishing he'd gotten to the shrine just a few hours earlier. He'd seen a lot of death, plenty far more gruesome than this, but it didn't mean he was completely emotionless.

A scream pierced the air, the silence shattered by the high-pitched sound of terror. He took off towards it, strides eating up the ground beneath as the sound of shattering trees and triumphant roars reached him. The forest backing the shrines was a few feet away when he spotted another corpse – this one an old man torn brutally in half, blood soaking in the pieces of paper littering the ground around him – but he didn't pause, focused on finding the demon that'd done this, and the hopefully alive human along with it.

There was another scream, and this time he could see where it originated from. A teenage girl cowered on the ground, legs curled to her chest and blood-stained hands raised in a weak attempt to defend herself. He nearly stumbled over her due to his burst of speed, kicking up earth as he skidded to a stop in front of her. "Hey, you okay kid?"

The scent of blood hit him for the second time that night, and he spotted the deep scarlet that stained her shirt, spreading from the deep gash gorged into her side, like something had taken a bite out of her. Her face was already deathly pale from blood loss, heartbeat sluggish, and her brown eyes didn't really focus on him when she blinked up blearily at him. She was in shock probably, minimising further any chance of survival, and Dante really didn't know enough about healing humans to be of any use. He shrugged off wounds like that as a scratch, sealed up within minutes, but the girl was a human and was only getting worse, if her laboured breathing and closing eyes were anything to go by.

Any plans to aid the teenager were stalled by a spike of power that erupted from behind him. It sent the hairs on the nape of his neck standing on end, his own demonic energy roiling in response. For a split second his form flickered, a flash of _hornsclawsblackredredred_, before he regained control. His blood thrummed through his veins in eager anticipation for the source of the waves of power, but the creature that emerged was a bit of a let-down, in Dante's opinion.

"Usually I wouldn't be complainin' about the view," he began with a smirk, eyes trailing down the naked torso of the female demon, before they drifted to the segmented body that gave a clear indication of the demon's nature. Chick from the waist up (if you ignored the extra arms), giant centipede all the way down. Not the freakiest he'd seen by a long shot. "But even a guy like me has standards. And honey, you just don't make the cut."

The demon scowled at him through a mouth overspilling with jagged teeth. "Impudent human, you should have run far from here when you had a chance." Huh, so she was one of the rare few that could talk. Even if it was kinda weird that she thought he was human, since demons intelligent enough to make conversation – or rather, insult and/or threaten him – could usually tell he wasn't your average Joe. "I'll tear you apart for your foolishness!"

The demon launched herself at him, and Dante dashed forward with a grin to meet her. Her segmented body tore up the ground beneath her, whilst his own steps were few but powerful as he sped across the grass. When they were within a few feet of each other she swung her plated body around at him, aiming to crush him beneath its force. He flipped casually over the swipe, and as he did so the guitar case on his back drifted over his skywards-turned body, straps slipping over his raised arms and leaving the case to follow in his momentum ahead of him. One hand reached up to flick the buckles and the case opened, revealing the gleaming sword within. He landed lightly on his feet, arm held out to catch Rebellion's handle as it dropped with an almost choreographed ease into his waiting palm. The guitar case thudded to the ground a moment later.

"Is that all you got, centipede-ass?" Dante cajoled with an arrogant tilt to his head, blade resting against his shoulder.

A scream of rage echoed across the small clearing when the demon saw that she'd missed her target, and there was another thrum of power from the creature. He watched curiously as her skin shredded, revealing a splotchy purple underskin, and her eyes turned an all-encompassing red. "I gotta say, purple really isn't your colour," he said, but he was more interested in the glowing pink thing her stomach had going on. He looked closer and saw that it was condensed into a ball about the size of a marble, drifting down her upper body into the segments that made up her lower half. Weird.

"I'll kill you!" she screamed, voice much more guttural than it had been.

"Come and get me, if you think you can handle it!"

The next charge was much faster than her last had been, and he was taken by surprise by the sudden increase in speed. It must've had something to do with the physical changes – that pink thing, maybe? Still, surprise didn't stop him from evading the demon's gaping maw, and she earnt a swipe from Rebellion for her trouble. The claymore tore away the arms on the creature's right side, cleaving into the armoured plating of her lower body as she flew by with a shriek of pain.

Dante made a disappointed sound, watching as several trees crumpled beneath the demon's weight when she landed on the other side of the clearing. He was already getting bored at the lack of challenge, and he could toy with an enemy for only so long. He may as well as left Rebellion in its case and torn the centipede-lady apart with his bare hands; it might've been a bit more fun then.

That's when something interesting happened. The demon pulsed with pink light, and before his eyes the long gash he'd made simply disappeared, like he'd never made the cut in the first place. The arms were back too, only this time the fingers had merged together in one long curved appendage, their sharp edges glinting as the demon swiped them experimentally. She turned a feral grin on him and thundered towards him.

He didn't bother moving to meet her this time, and matched the slash of her three limbs with a raised Rebellion. The startled creature shuddered to a stop in an explosion of air pressure, long body bunching up beneath it in twisted coils, whilst Dante remained smirkingly unmoved. Not so unstoppable force, meet immovable object. Now say hello to his pretty sword.

A flick of the claymore removed the arms once again, but this time he didn't leave it at that. He carved through her waist, sending a spray of blood into the air as she neatly separated, centipede half twitching whilst her torso thudded to the ground. Arcs of pink began to spark between the two parts, prompting Dante to stomp over to the glow still emanating from one of the coils. The pink object had obviously been what had healed the demon, and since he didn't want to be here all day he'd have to get it out. "I'll be taking that," he announced, shoving his hand through the armoured hide and into the demon's soft flesh. His searching fingers closed around the marble-sized object and he pulled it out, bringing an end to the attempts at revival, the demon dissolving into dust without her power source.

Opening his fist he examined it curiously, blinking when the poisonous purple that had begun to creep across its pale pink surface rapidly retreated. He held it up in front of his eye between two fingers, looking into its smoky depths in the hope that it'd given him some hint of what the hell it was. When it did nothing more than glow faintly before settling down sedately he tucked it away into one of the pockets on the inside of his coat, resolving to examine it more later. He had a bleeding-out human to deal with.

He trotted over to the teenage girl, grabbing the guitar case on the way, and frowned when he heard how slow her heartbeat had gotten. Still, she seemed to be conscious, if barely, which was a good thing he guessed. He slipped Rebellion back into the case – wouldn't want to panic any humans, after all – and shrugged it over his shoulder, before scooping the girl up into his arms. He was as gentle as he could be, but she still whimpered in pain and weakly grasped the collar of his coat. That was something, at least.

Luckily there was a hospital only a few miles away – Dante's definition of a 'few miles' wasn't quite the same as most people's – and he dropped the now unconscious kid off in the emergency room, leaving before anyone could get him to sign any of those annoying forms that took forever to fill out. Good deed done for the day he headed back to Higur-whatever Shrine, wanting to have a quick look around before the cops cordoned the place off. He wanted to know where the demon had come from, since though the shrine was slightly out of his area he would've sensed her moving towards the shrine in one of his 'patrols' – also known as boredom-induced-slightly-drunken-wanderings. Whatever, he still would've noticed a demon when he hadn't seen one in so long, no matter how weak it'd been. The marble glowing like a beacon – to his senses anyway – in his pocket would've caught his attention too. The only reason he hadn't sensed it at first was because he was more focused on the human girl, and yeah, he could be kinda one-minded at times. So sue him for not being omniscient.

The sun was still pretty high in the sky when he arrived, highlighting the destruction the centipede had reeked. It wasn't too bad really; the courtyard was a bit scarred up, and the house would need some serious repairs, but if the kid lived she could still live here. A little bit of tarp whilst the roof (and second floor) was being fixed and she'd be fine.

That is, if she wanted to live in a place where her family had been slaughtered and she'd almost joined them. Who knows, maybe she was made of sterner stuff than he'd thought.

So, now to find where the centipede demon had popped out from. Dante jogged over to the trees, finding where she'd torn through them in her chase after the teenager. It was close to where the corpse of the old man still lay, and he picked up one of the dry pieces of paper to have a look at the black ink painting it. It was…some sort of charm? Had the old man tried to hold off the demon with it? That was almost funny, in a horribly sad way. He moved to crumple the paper but paused, folding it and placing it in his pocket instead.

The demon had left a pretty clear trail and he followed it back towards the house, his footsteps eventually leading to the shrine sitting opposite and slightly along from the house. The wooden front wall had been torn off, part of the roof ripped away too, but for the most part remained intact. A lingering energy that felt like the pink marble hovered around the well within, and he moved closer to get a better look at it, wooden steps creaking beneath his boots. He was a couple of feet away when the marble shone so brightly and suddenly that he winced. The light was echoed by a corresponding glow from deep within the well, and despite his caution Dante moved closer, curiosity driving him and overriding the pricking of his danger sense. What was life without a little risk?

Yeah, not his brightest decision. The marble was apparently fed up with his slow pace, and he was yanked towards the well, _into _the well, like a pair of magnets irresistibly drawn to each other. And Dante, well, he just went with the flow.

When the world around him disappeared for the second time in as many months, Dante wondered if he'd passed the line between recklessness and insanity. He then promptly decided he didn't care.

* * *

Just a quick note: yes, this is technically a crossover (_Devil May Cry x Inuyasha_) but as it is based entirely in the _Inuyasha _universe, that's how I'm calling it.

Not too sure where I'm going with this. Mostly I'm just trying out writing a different sort of character's point of view than I'm used to, and practising writing fight scenes. I'm not an expert on either fandom, so let me know if I get something drastically wrong - I'll mention it if the change is intentional. Pairings are undecided, and I'll listen to any ideas if you guys have them.

Any advice or criticism is welcome, so please leave a review to let me know how I'm doing. Thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

Blues and blacks swirled around Dante in a stream of not-light as he floated, gravity having abandoned him to this strange place. It was almost peaceful, this endless freefall, some sort of foreign energy that was neither demon nor like the pink marble surrounding him. He didn't know what it was, except that it was very old. The marble itself was practically humming away in his pocket, and he noticed that the colours seemed to pulse in time with it. Weird, but he'd seen weirder. Compared to what he usually went through this was a walk in the park, since he'd yet to have anything try to tear his face off.

The ride ended before he had time to worry about where it was taking him. He landed on his hands and knees, and a quick check revealed that he was unharmed with all his weapons still on him. "The hell?" he muttered, half-expecting some slobbering demon to come leaping out at him whilst he was still a little dazed, but nothing happened. Damn, the trip had been downright pleasant once he'd gotten over the sensation of falling without actually falling. What the hell was wrong with this universe?

A glance around revealed that he was at the bottom of a drywell, though since he could see a clear blue sky through the opening above it definitely wasn't the one he'd been dragged into. "Down the rabbit hole, huh. Okay, I'll bite." The vines were a new addition too, but he ignored them in favour of one powerful bound to get him out of the well, landing in a crouch on the wall encasing the well. He was surrounded by thick vegetation, the vibrant greens and colourful flowers a heavy contrast to the industrial Tokyo. It smelled incredibly different too; fresh and clean like nowhere he'd been before, no heavy pollution or even a hint of burning fossil fuels. He couldn't have swapped universes _again, _could he?

No, those mountains in the distance looked pretty familiar – well, as familiar as chunks of rock can be – and he could see a huge tree not too far away that he recognised from the Higur-something Shrine. So he was in the same place, just not the same…time, maybe? It made sense, what with the whole can-breathe-deeply-without-wanting-to-cough-up-a-lung and the familiar landmarks. So, time-travelling wells then. Not the mode of transport he'd have personally chosen, but it was certainly original. Now, should he jump back down the well and (hopefully) be taken back to civilisation, or should he wander around a potentially-dangerous area he knew nothing about?

"Let's check out the huge-ass tree," Dante decided, setting off towards it. He hadn't noticed it before, but there was something _off _about the tree. It was kinda like with the well and the marble; that non-human or demon energy that still seemed sentient in some way. Hell, maybe this sort of thing was normal in this universe, and he'd just stumbled upon a load of them in quick succession.

When he walked into the small clearing surrounding the tree, the sight before him wasn't quite what he'd been expecting. Pinned to the already old tree was a boy, an arrow piercing his chest and holding him to the tree. Usually this wouldn't have gotten much more than an acknowledging glance, but when the boy in question had triangular, dog-like ears poking up through long sliver hair on the top of his head, well, that was enough to get at least a raised eyebrow.

"Hey kid, you alive up there?" Since he didn't get a response Dante moved further into the clearing, hopping up onto the thick, twisting roots that rose through the soil and bound the boy to the tree further. The old-traditional Japanese clothing supported his time travel theory, and he couldn't be more than a few centuries back judging by the style (rather, the fact that there _was _a style, and not just a few scraps of fur). The kid didn't seem to be dead, since there was none of that decomposing – however slowly – smell that corpses got pretty quickly, and his skin was still a healthy colour. It was more like he was in some sort of coma, and since he was clearly non-human Dante wasn't gonna doubt the boy - he couldn't have been much older than the girl he' saved from centipede-lady, all teenager-y and whatever - could survive being shot with an arrow. He was speaking from experience, after all. How many times had he been pinned to stuff by his own sword?

The arrow itself was pretty weird too. It looked old as hell, fletching faded and patchy whilst the wood wasn't looking too good either, but when he flicked it rather than snapping like a steel one would've the arrow remained stubbornly intact. For a second it glowed that pale pink he was grudgingly getting used to, corresponding with a flash from his pocket, before flickering away. He was about to give it an experimental tug when a group of humans crashed through the tree-line behind him.

"No! You must not free Inuyasha!" Someone shouted desperately. There was a _twang _of bowstrings and several arrows flew towards the hybrid, but each missed him and pierced the tree instead in what he guessed was meant to be a warning. He didn't flinch, even as one scraped his cheek in its flight. The thin cut was sealed over barely a few second later, not enough time for any blood to congeal.

"So that's your name, huh?" Inuyasha, predictably, didn't answer. Dante swore those ears of his twitched a little, though it could've been his imagination. Whatever. Time to deal with the natives.

The group was small, only about a dozen men ranging from barely adults to middle-aged, all holding some sort of weapon – mostly farming scythes with a few bows scattered amongst them, some clubs and one rusty old sword. Leading the pack was an old woman, wearing those baggy red pants and long-sleeved white shirt. Some sort of priestess uniform, right? She clutched a drawn bow and narrowed her remaining eye at him, the other socket covered by an eyepatch. All in all, not a very threatening image.

"What can I do for ya, Captain?" Dante asked cheerfully, "I'm a bit busy to go plundering, but try later and I'll see what I can do." Several of the men lowered their weapons slightly in confusion, a general expression of 'What the…' spreading through them. Looked like he'd found a downside to this time travel business; no one got his jokes.

The old woman frowned at him. "I know not what manner of youkai you are, but I beg that you do not free Inuyasha, for it will spell the end of us all."

"You're kidding, right?" he said, glancing over at the teenager. "You think pretty boy over there can take me?" Then the first part of her statement registered. Youkai? That was a Japanese demon, right? Why did she think he was one of them- he looked down at his leather coat and clothing, white hair brushing the corners of his vision. Right. Compared to the villager's plain colours – both clothing and hair – he stood out like a sore thumb.

"Heed my warning," the old lady began, stringing her bow with another arrow, "or I will be forced to stop you myself."

Dante spread his arms wide, mockingly presenting his chest as a clear target. "Give it your best shot, old woman."

The priestess glared and her arrow was engulfed in a faint glow before she set it loose. To his eyes the arc it made was painfully slow – he was used to dodging bullets, after all – but he remained where he was. The arrow sunk into the centre of his chest, but the impact wasn't enough to even make him sway. The triumphant look on the villagers' faces quickly faded when the pink light sputtered out after a few moments, tingling unpleasantly but otherwise having no effect. Dante grinned especially wide at them as horror and confusion rose in the humans, none more so than the old woman. They hadn't honestly expected something like that to do any serious damage, even with that weird energy, had they?

"Now that I've proven you don't stand a chance, think we can be civil?" Dante pulled out the arrow and dropped it to the ground, relieved when the black leather covering his torso began to fix the small hole. He could only go through so many torn and destroyed clothes before he started getting all his stuff made in self-repairing material. It was expensive as hell, but cheaper than having to buy a whole new outfit after every job. Demons just had no respect for the aesthetics.

"Very well," the old woman agreed, watching him cautiously. "As long as you swear on your heritage that you will not harm any of the people who live in the village, I will take you there and answer any question you have."

Dante gave her a dazzling smile in return. "I won't harm a hair on their heads. Scout's honour." He wasn't big on admitting he needed the help, but this way-

The marble pulsed in his pocket, and he brought it out with an irritated frown. What was up with that thing? It seemed to give the centipede demon some sort of power boost, then it dragged him down a well, and now it wouldn't quit with the light show. He could usually figure out new weapons and stuff within seconds of getting them, but this thing was a complete mystery.

"No, that can't be…" He turned his attention to the old priestess, who looked like she was about to have a heart attack, eyes riveted to the marble. "The Shikon no Tama!"

"Is that what this thing is called?" 'Tama' meant jewel, right? It didn't really look much like a jewel, but he wasn't gonna argue with the expert. Or, if not an expert, she at least knew more than he did.

There was another pulse of energy, harmonising with a flash of power behind him. Turning around curiously, he was met with angry gold eyes. "The Shikon no Tama…is mine!" Inuyasha snarled, looking remarkably lively for a guy who'd been in a coma just a few seconds a go.

"No need to be so cranky, pretty boy," Dante admonished, then looked over his shoulder at the stunned villagers. "Just for the record, I didn't touch the arrow. Blame it on the gay disco ball over here," he added, holding up the jewel, which glowed happily in his palm. "Smug little bastard, ain't ya." The fancy marble didn't seem bothered by his glare, even if it was half-hearted at best. At least the jewel made things interesting.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha was straining against his wooden bonds, but the seal had sapped his usual strength from him. There was no way he was gonna get the jewel, pinned to the tree like this. If it weren't for that fucking arrow! He couldn't get it out himself, but it didn't exactly look brand new; maybe its power had faded over how long he'd been stuck here? If he could get a strong enough demon to yank it out, they'd probably be able to survive the spiritual power, or at least long enough to free Inuyasha. But where was he gonna find a strong demon that would be willing to help him in the first place?

The hanyou paused in his struggles and looked up at the white-haired guy who was still staring at the Shikon no Tama. There was something off about him. He didn't smell like a human, but he wasn't a youkai either. One thing Inuyasha was sure of was that the guy was powerful, and the old hag's attempt at purifying him at least showed he was resistant to spiritual power. Though Inuyasha wouldn't mind getting back at him for the 'pretty boy' comment, that could wait for later after the seal was destroyed. "Hey, think you can loosen this arrow a bit?" he asked between gritted teeth, giving his best charming smile even as he imagined tearing the other man apart.

Dante fought back a laugh at the sorta-demon's rigid request, but gave up when one of Inuyasha's eyes started twitching. He braced himself on his knees, laughs shaking his body, regaining his composure for only a moment when he caught sight of Inuyasha's enraged face, and chuckles tore through him again. "Sorry kid," he finally apologized as he straightened. "You really need to work on hiding how much you wanna throw me into a ditch, before you go askin' me to help you."

"Quit running your fucking mouth and get me the hell off this tree!" Inuyasha demanded, giving up on any niceties in the far of his anger. That arrogant bastard was laughing at him, and he couldn't do anything about it, damn it!

Dante held his hands up and widened his eyes innocently. "Hey now, no need for name-calling. You might hurt someone's feelings." When Inuyasha looked like he was winding himself up for a rant, the demon hunter poked his forehead. "Lemme finish. I never said I wouldn't free you. Shouldn't be too difficult," he muttered the last part to himself, crossing his arms and peering at the arrow. If pretty boy wanted to have a go at him that much, well, he hadn't had a proper challenge in a long time.

"You mustn't!" Huh, he'd almost forgotten about the old woman and her cohorts. She seemed too wary to get much closer, and with her recent failure in mind there was no new arrow strung on her bow. She wasn't completely senile, then. "Inuyasha is far too dangerous!"

He grinned at her. "Well now you've said that," a leather-gloved hand closed around the arrow's shaft, and sparks of pale lavender flickered around it, singing his skin. "I just have to." His own demonic energy responded to the power in the arrow, streaks of dark red erupting around his hand. The two lights battled each other but the purple was quickly overwhelmed, crushed by the thick scarlet, and the arrow exploded in a hail of sparks.

Dante was given a split seconds warning in the form of a rush of energy before Inuyasha ripped free from the roots holding him to the tree, claws outstretched and gleaming as he leapt for the red-coated man. Dante bent over backwards at the waist, tilting his head back just enough for the claws to pass harmlessly over his face, Inuyasha's momentum taking him passed in a barely controlled fall.

The hanyou quickly regained his feet though, glaring at Dante who stood with his arms crossed behind his head, cocky grin in place. "Feisty, ain't ya?"

"Shut the hell up and just die!" Inuyasha growled and charged at him, swiping his right hand. "Sankon Tessou!" he yelled, light streaming from his claws.

"Too slow!" Dante evaded the strike with a quick sidestep, catching the surprised hanyou's ankle as he flew past. Inuyasha was brought to an abrupt halt where he hung for a few moments in mid-air, before he was swung towards the trees that lined the edge of the clearing. He ploughed through three of the trees but came to a stop against the fourth, which creaked ominously beneath the force, barely managing to remain standing.

Inuyasha groaned as he pulled himself out of the trench he'd made, regretting underestimating his opponent. He'd thought he could finish the fight in one swipe of his claws, or at least cause some serious damage, but the bastard was a lot stronger than he'd thought. There was no way he was giving up though, not until the bastard's blood was painting the clearing!

The bastard in question was patiently waiting for the apparent teenager to emerge. Inuyasha seemed to be pretty sturdy, so a few trees to the face shouldn't be enough to take him out. Sure enough, the hanyou darted back towards him a couple of seconds later, bearing only superficial wounds and a few leaves in his long hair. "Hand over the Shikon no Tama, and I'll make your death quick!"

"Try it, pretty boy!" Dante was preparing to intercept the next attack when the priestess started chanting. Beads flew through the air towards Inuyasha, settling around his neck in a loose necklace. The two confused men blinked at the beads, and when nothing happened they turned to the old woman.

"Speak the subduing word!" The priestess addressed Dante frantically. "Any word will do! Anything to control Inuyasha!" She seemed to have decided that Dante was the lesser evil, though her attempts at aid really weren't necessary.

"Ha! You think you can subdue me?!" Claws cut through the air where his head had been a moment ago, followed through with a swipe at his stomach that Dante leapt back from. Pretty boy was faster than he'd thought; that last one managed to catch the edge of his trailing coat. He might actually be fun to fight, even if he was rough around the edges. But…

"You just had to make it a challenge, didn't ya?" Now Dante just _had _to 'subdue' him or whatever. He held his elbow and cupped his chin as he danced around the hanyou's strikes, trying to think of the right word. Hmm, what would suit Inuyasha, and be funny at the same time? A grin lit up his face when the perfect word came to him, one he'd head a frustrated dog-owner yelling at her pet the other day. "Osuwari!"

Like someone had turned gravity up full-blast Inuyasha slammed into the ground face-first, the rest of his body following unwillingly. Dante had a moment of surprise – he hadn't really expected it to work, and definitely not so well – before the effect wore off. Inuyasha darted upright, grabbing the necklace with an outraged cry of, "What the hell is this?!"

The old priestess apparently felt it was safe enough to wander over, though she remained noticeably closer to the demon hunter. "To struggle is useless, Inuyasha, as that rosary subdues your power."

"Wha…" Confusion quickly turned to anger, his charge directed at the priestess this time as he entirely ignored the amused Dante. "I'll kill you, old hag!"

The old woman turned to Dante. "If you could...?"

Shrugging, he complied with her unspoken request. However weird her powers were, she _was _still a human, and he couldn't just let her die. "Osuwari."

The beads were just as effective a second time, judging by the satisfying _thud. _Dante could get used to this.

**. . .**

The old priestess, who introduced herself as Kaede, led Dante into the village with a repeat of her promise to explain everything. The men who had come with her remained a wary few metres away, weapons clutched tightly, whilst a sullen Inuyasha trailed even further back. After a couple of attempts to attack Dante and Kaede, and the following 'osuwari's, he'd run out of steam. Dante didn't have much of a problem with him leaving if he wanted to, but pretty boy wouldn't let the Shikon no Tama out of his sight. The dog and bone analogy had never been more accurate.

The village itself was small, with only a couple of dozen houses on either side of the dirt road that ran through the village. Men and women worked in the crop fields, peering cautiously at the odd group as they walked past. Used to being stared at, Dante waved cheerily at them, sending grins to the few children who waved back. Kaede sent him an odd look for that, but she was less tense after that, and by the time they reached her hut she was asking if he wanted something to eat.

Not having eaten since – shit, yesterday morning or something? – Dante nodded eagerly. The stew she made over the fire in the middle of the one-roomed hut tasted _amazing, _more due to his hunger than the cook's skill, but he thanked her all the same and helped himself to seconds. Eventually Inuyasha grabbed a bowl for himself, even if he was scowling whilst he did so, and there was a moment of peace whilst the three ate.

"So, anyone gonna tell me what the hell a Shikon no Tama is?" Dante asked when they were all finished. Kaede sat across from him, on the other side of the cooking pot, whilst Inuyasha had his back to them near the entrance.

"You haven't heard of it?" Kaede looked surprised when he shook his head. "It is a very powerful object, its spiritual power allowing one to achieve all of their desires. It is sought after by many with darkness in their hearts, both human and youkai."

"Is that what Inuyasha is? A youkai?" He glanced over at the teenager, noticing that he'd stiffened at the question, but continued to pretend he hadn't heard.

"No, Inuyasha is a hanyou." At Dante's uncomprehending look, she continued, "He is half dog-demon, half human."

"Kinda like me, then," Dante murmured, more to himself than his audience. Inuyasha's ears swivelled towards him, head turning slightly before he stopped himself. "Just without the dog part."

The old priestess examined him, searching for any signs that would indicate the non-human half of Dante's heritage, but she found nothing. The white hair was odd, yes, but usually there were more obvious indicators, such as Inuyasha's ears. Since he did not volunteer any more information she decided to leave those wonderings alone. She knew that he was powerful, and she wouldn't risk angering whilst he was in her village. He may have been reasonable thus far, but she had not so naïve as to trust any with demon blood in their veins. That trust had cost her sister her life.

Inuyasha suddenly sat up from his slumped position, spinning to face them angrily. "Old hag, you've been going on like that since earlier. Do you know me?!"

"You don't recognise me, do you?" Kaede began, frowning at the hanyou's honest confusion. "But that's not surprising," she sighed, steeling herself. "I am the younger sister of Kikyou, the one who sealed you. I am Kaede."

"Kaede?" Inuyasha repeated, searching the old hag's face for any resemblance to the young girl he'd seen in passing.

"It has been fifty years since then, so I have aged as well."

Fifty years? Pretty boy had been stuck to a tree for fifty years? Damn, that must've been boring. Dante couldn't imagine staying in one place with nothing but trees for company for a whole day, never mind half a century. No wonder he'd been so cranky when he'd woken up.

"You're that brat, huh. Which means…" Inuyasha scratched his head, "Kikyou is a total hag as well? Too bad, being human, isn't it?"

"Kikyou-onee-sama is dead. It was the same day that you were sealed."

Inuyasha froze, and Dante was starting to feel like he was watching some sort of soap opera. Pretty boy obviously cared about this Kikyou chick more than he was letting on, yet she was the one who'd sealed him for fifty years. Talk about drama.

"So that's what happened. Too bad for that bitch," the hanyou scoffed, going back to his reclining position facing the entrance. "That's a relief."

Kaede made to say something to Inuyasha, but changed her mind. "How did you come across the Shikon no Tama?" she asked Dante instead. "It was burnt with Kikyou-onee-sama upon her death, and there was no trace of it afterwards."

"I yanked it out of some centipede demon. She probably hadn't had it for long though, since she was so weak." Dante thought of the Higurashi girl, the one the demon had chased after. She'd had a hole in her side, but was otherwise unharmed, like the centipede had attacked but suddenly lost interest after the first blow. The girl couldn't have had the jewel, could she? If it was as powerful as Kaede was claiming, what was an ordinary human doing with it?

"Have you attempted to use it?" she questioned warily. If the strength she sensed was purely due to the jewel she'd feel a bit better, but if he had yet to use it…

"Nah, power like that always comes at a price in my experience, and I'm not prepared to pay it." Kaede breathed a sigh of relief, glad that this demon at least was not power-hungry like the majority. "'sides, where's the fun in that? I enjoy a challenge, and the magic marble would make things way too easy."

"How stupid are you?!" Inuyasha leapt to his feet, rounding on Dante with an infuriated glare. "You could do anything you wanted! Keh, if you don't want it, give it to me so I can become a full youkai!"

Kaede spoke up before Dante to form a reply. "You must not allow the Shikon no Tama to be used, for its power corrupts even the purest of wishes. As the one who found it after so long, it is your responsibility to protect it."

"You trust _me _to protect something like this?" Hadn't the old woman thought he was an evil demon a couple of hours ago? Now she was trusting him to protect a mysterious, wish-granting jewel? He could just throw it away if he wanted, or sell it off, or use it himself. He had plenty of wises; an unlimited supply of pizza, a harem of beautiful women, enough money to fill several swimming pools, hell, he could just wish to go home-

His eyes widened in realization. He could go home. Make a wish, click his heels and off he went, back to his own universe. The jewel was supposed to be all-powerful, right? It could do something like that, easy. He just had to make a wish, and he wouldn't be stuck in this place anymore. Back to his shop, to his friends, to his life which – as shitty as it could be at times – was still _his _life.

He pulled the Shikon no Tama out and looked down at it, ignoring the other two in favour of pouring all his focus – fear, grief, devastating hope – into the small object. His heart was pounding, and he'd never begged in his life before this, but he had no problem with it now. _Take me home. _

Nothing happened. There wasn't even a flicker in the jewel's pink surface, no hint that he'd even tried to use it. Crushing disappointment swept through him, though his blank face showed no sign of his emotional state. Damn it, damn it, _damn it! _Of course the fucking thing didn't work! When had things ever been so simple for him? Why should something go his way for once? They just kept taking and _taking _and- and now he had nothing left.

"Dante-san? Are you well?"

At Kaede's soft inquiry he took in a deep breath, relaxing his fist and placing the jewel back in his pocket. He wasn't so weak as to break down, especially not in front of anyone else. Dante would do what he always did; brush off the hit and keep going. Wasn't like he had any other choice.

"Yeah. Just peachy."


End file.
